Steam-engine.



E. W. CONKELL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. a, 1911.

v1,015,993, Patented 13411.30, 1912.

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E. W. GONKELL.

' STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED PEB. 8, 1911.

1,01 5,993-, Patented Jan. 30, 191-2.

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l M 'i v @MWF E. W. CONKELL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8, 1911. 1,015,993. Patented Ja11.30, 1912.

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my? WIW UNITED STATES FATEN'I FFICE.

ELIAS W. CONKELL, 0F CANTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JACOB J.HEIN AND ONE-FOURTH TO WILLIAM A. HAMMERLY, BOTH OF CANTON, OHIO.

STEAM-ENGINE Application filed February 8, 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ELIAS W. CONKELL, acitizen of the United States, residing at Canton, in the county of Starkand State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Steam- Fngine, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in steam engines adapted for theoperation of pumps and the like, although my invention may be embodiedin steam engines for other purposes.

More specifically the invention refers to steam engines in which abalanced, steam actuated valve is employed for the control of the, portsof the cylinder.

The objects of my invention are to generally improve steam engines ofthe character mentioned, to provide a steam engine of few and simpleparts in which the amount of energy required to actuate the valves isreduced to a minimum, a main, steam balanced cylinder port controllingvalve being controlled in its movements by an auxiliary valve directlymechanically actuated by the piston in its movements.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a steam engineof the simplex type readily adapted to be used with a second similarengine, the two engines being connected in such watT as to produce aduplex steam engine of improved design.

These objects together with other objectsl which will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art I attain by the constructionillustrated in the accompanying drawings, although my invention may beembodied in other forms, the construction illustrated being chosen byway of example.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of asteam engine embodying my invention as used in connection with a waterend for pumping, the water end being broken away, and the piston in thecylinder illustrated in position as itis after it has just started onits forward stroke. Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating the piston ata point near the forward limit of its stroke. Fig. 8 is a similar viewshowing the piston on its backward stroke. Fig. 4 is-a horizontalsection on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical section on theline 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional View through twosteam engines made in accordance with my invention and Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 1912.

Serial No. 607,254.

Taking up, in the first place, a description of the simplex type ofengine the numeral 1 indicates a cylinder provided with the rear head 2and the front head 3 of the usual construction. At the rear end of thecylinder l and on the upper side thereof is the port 4 while at thefront end of said cylinder and at the upper side is the port 5. Moredetailed description of said ports will hereinafter be given. Midwaybetween the ends of the cylinder 1 andon the upper side thereof is theauxiliary exhaust port 6 for the main, steam balanced, cylinder portcontrolling valve hereinafter more fully explained. Adjacent the port 6and longitudinally spaced therefrom, one on each side, are the auxiliaryports 7 and 8, also for the main controlling valve, the said ports 6, 7and 8 having nothing to do directly with the control of steam inlet oroutlet for the cylinder l, but only being used for actuating the mainbalanced valve.

Within the cylinder 1 is arranged a piston provided with twolongitudinally spaced heads, the rear head 9 and the front head 10 bothconnected to the piston rod l1 which extends through the front head -3which is provided with a stuffing box 12 of any usual construction. Thepiston rod 11 extends forward from the head 3 and may be connected tothe operative mechanism of the pump end 13, or any other device which itis desired to actuate by said piston rod.

Forthe purpose of holding the heads 9 and 10 in proper relative positionand t0 increase-the stability of the piston structure brace rods yextendbetween said heads and are fastened thereto. rlhe preferable arrangementof said brace rods is illustrated in the drawings, Fig. 5 most clearlyshowing the positions of the various rods. In said Fig. 5 it will benoted that the rods 14 and 15 are at the bottom side of the cylinder andthe rods 16 and 17 at the top. The rods 16 and 17 are spaced from eachother, are

parallel, and have oppositely disposed 't'aoes arranged substantially inplanes radial with reference to the bore ot the cylinder, Thisconstruction is clearly illustrated in Fig. Arranged between the rods 1Gand 17 is the D valve 1S the outer side walls oit which are arranged inplanes radial with reference to the bore of the cylinder so as tocontorni to the said oppositelv disposed taces oi the rods 16 and 1T,and which valve is held in engagement with the top wall ot the cylinderby means ot the said rods 16 and 1'? while permitted to slideloi'igitrulinally with reterenre to said rods and with reference to saidwall. Said valve is et such size as to extend over and inter-connect theport (5 with either one or the other ot the ports 7 and S for thepurpose which will presently be explained.

It should be noted that the valve 18 is provided at each end with a lug10 adapted to be engaged by the heads ot the piston tor the purpose otslidably moving said valve, as will hereinafter appear. For the purposeot conducting live steam to the engine the pipe Q0 is provided, which isconnected to the steam chest 91, upon which is mounted the main valvecasing the steam chest 21 and said casing being preferably castintegrally as illustrated iu the drawings. in the steam chest.- 21 is alongitudinally disposed cored out live steam passage into which thesteam is admitted trom the said pipe Q0. '.llhe passage 211 permanentlyconnects the interior ot the cylinder 1 between the piston heads and 10with the live steam supply within the passage 23 so that at all timessteam pressure is maintained between said piston heads while having noeiliect upon said heads, as the space between said heads remainsuniftu'n'i at all times. ghe main valve casing is provided with alongitudinally disposed bored valve cylinder provided at each end with astationary head 2G screwed into said cylinder, or otherwise mechanicallyconnected. At the two ends o1 the cored out passage ports 27 and 2S, tothe rear and to the front of the center of the cylinder' 25 areprovided, which ports are adapted, when uncovered, to conduct live steamYfrom the passage 23 into said cylinder Q5. in the steam chest Q1 arealso provided the main steam passages 29 and 80, which arelongitudinally disposed, the rear passage 29 being connected with therear port in the cylinder 1 and the front passage 30 being connectedwith the front port 5 in said cylinder. it the opposite ends ot thepassages and 30 the ports 31 and 32 connect said passages with theinterior of the valve cylinder Extending through the body ot the casingconstituting the steam chest and through that portion thereof whichseparates the passage 23 from the passages 29 and 30 are the auxiliarypassages 353 and. 311:, the passage 33 connecting the port S with therear end ot the valve cylinder and the passage 3stconnecting the port 7with the front end ot said cylinder 25.

ln the steam chest 21, on the opposite side from that into which thepipe 2O enters is arranged the general exhaust passage from which thepipe 36 carries the exhaust steam into the atmosphere or a condenser orthe lil'e, as may be preferred. The exhaust port (3 in the cylinder 1 isconnected with the exhaust imssage as is also theI exhaust port 35 inthe valve cylinder lVithin the valve cylinder is arranged a balancedpiston valve which is provided with tour heads indicated by the numerals37, 3S, 39 and 40 respectively, it'rom rear to trent. It will be notedfrom an inspection of the drawings thatthe said heads are siisaced fromeach other substantially equal. distances and that the cylinder Q5 islonger than the entire piston valve by an extent substantially equal tothe distance between any two heads of the valve. llVhen the valve is inits extreme forward position, as illustrated in Fig. 1 the port 31 willbe connected with the port 2T peri'nitting live steam to pass trom thepassage Q3 through the spa-ce between the heads 37 and 38, through theport 31 into the passage Q9 and ,thence into the rear end of thecylinder 1 behind the rear piston head 9. This will cause the pistonwithin the cylinder 1 to move forward, the exhaust steam from in 'frontof the piston head 1() exhausting` through the port 5, the passage 30,the port 3:2, the space between the heads 38 and 89, the exhaust port-il-1 and the general exhaust passage 35, and thence out through thepipe 3G. Tt-Vhen the piston has moved forward until it has attained theposition. illustrated in Fig. 2 the rear head 9 will come intoengagement with. the D valve 18, which, by the further tor- Yardmovement oit the piston will. be slidably moved into the positionillustrated in Fig. 3, connect-ing the ports G and 8 and unc r veringthe port T. Live steam Aunder pressure being constantly maintainedbetween the heads 9 and 10, said steam will enter through the port i'into the auxiliary passage 34, and thence into the valve cylinder 25 intrent of the head 40 of the piston val ve. rEhe piston valve will thusbe immediately moved backward into the piston illustrated in Fig. 3, thesteam back of the head 3T exhausting through the auxiliary passage andthe port 3, through the valve 18, and thence out through the exhaustpassage and exhaust pipe 3G. As soon as the piston valve has been thusmoved to its rear position as illustrated in Fig. 3 steam will beadmitted trom the passage 23, the port 28, the space between the heads39 and e0, the port 82, the passage 30 and the port 2 determined limits.

5 into the cylinder 1 in front ot the piston head 10, thus causing thepiston within the cylinder 1 to move backwardly, the steam back of thehead 9 exhausting through the port 4, the passage 29, the port 31, thespace between the heads 38 and 39 and the exhaust port 41 into thegeneral exhaust passage 35 and ont through the pipe 36. As the pistonwithin the cylinder 1 nears the end of its rear stroke the head 10 comesinto engagement with the valve 18 and slidably moves said valve backwardso as to connect the ports 6 and 7 and uncover the port 8, asillustrated in Fig. 1. In this position live steam will be admitted frombetween the heads 9 and 10 through the port 8 and the auxiliary passage33 into the rear end ot the cylinder back of the head 37, thus drivingthe piston valve forwardly into the position illustrated in Fig. 1, thesteam in front of the head exhausting through the auxiliary7 passage 34,the port 7, the valve 18 and the port 6 into the passage 85 and thenceout through the exhaust pipe 36. Then the piston valve is thus disposedat the front end of the cylinder 25 live steam will be admitted into thecylinder 1 behind the piston head 9 which will be driven forward, ashereinbetore described, thus comple-ting a cycle of operation.

Attention should be called to the tact that it is desirable to limit thepossible movement of the valve 18 by some suitable means so that it maynot move beyond its pre- For this purpose I employ a limiting pin 42which extends through the wall of the cylinder 1 and has its inner endextending into the hollow of said valve 18, thus preventing the valvefrom moving too far either `forwardly or backwardly. The valve 18 isrelatively small and requires but little force to move it. It ispositive in operation and is ,so directly actuated by the piston headsas to insure absolutely accurate timing after the engine has been onceconstructed and set up. The piston valve, as will be readily understood,is balanced and requires very little force to move it. The livesteaniunder pressure acting against the heads 37 and 40 in the ends ofthe cylinder 25 actuates said piston valve both positively and quickly.In fact the piston valve is almost instantaneous in its movements. By aninspection of the drawings it will be noted that the cylinder walladjacent the ports 4 and 5 is cut away slightly substantially to theheads Q and 3 to permit the steam to enter the cylinder between the headthereof and the head of the piston at either end. With theses facts inmind it will be readily understood that the device operates in a positive and satisfactory manner without any undue valve friction and withthe minimum loss of energy within the device itself.

As hereinbefore stated two of my invented engines may be inter-connectedin such way as to produce a duplex steam engine of improved design. InFigs. 6, 7 and 8 the arrangement and inter-connection of two ot mysimplex engines to produce a duplex engine are shown. In said figuresone of the two engines going to malte up the duplex engine is designatedA while the other is designated B. In constructing a duplex engine thetwo simplex engines A and B each constructed in all of its partssimilarly to the simplex engine hereinbetore described, are arrangedside by side with their axes parallel and their piston rods extendingforwardly in the same direction. The essential requirement for producingduplex action by the two engines is then merely to Vmake suchinterconnections between the two engines and their parts that the Dvalve actuated by the piston heads in each engine will control the steamsupply for actuating the piston valve on the other engine. To accomplishthis result I arrange in each steam chest two small valves 43a, 44'L and43h, 44b by which the ports 7 and 8 in each engine may be cut oit fromconnection with their auxiliarly passages 38 and 34, thus shutting offconnection between each cylinder and the piston valve cylinder mountedupon it. To accomplish the cross or inter-connection between the pistonvalve cylinder on each side and the D valve in the engine on the otherside the ducts 45, 46, 47 and 48 are provided. The said ducts may bemade of pipes as shown in the drawings, or otherwise, the pipes shown inthe drawings being one of the possible forms of construction. The duct45 is connected at one end with the port 7 of the engine B and at theother end with the rear end ot the piston valve cylinder on engine A.The duct 46 is connected at one end with the port-8 of engine A and atthe other end with the rear end of the piston valve cylinder on engineB. The duct 47 is connected at one end with the port 7 ot engine A andat the other end with the front end of the piston valve cylinder onengine B. The duct 48 is connected at one end with the port 8 of engineB and at the other end with the front end of the piston valve cylinderon engine A. On each of the ducts 45,l 46, 47 and 48 a valve 49 isprovided whereby the passage through said duct may be closed. The twoengines and their inter-connections being arranged as `iust describedand the valves 43a, 44a, 43h, 44h closed and the valves 49 open the Dvalve 18 in each engine will control the supply of steam Jfor actuatingthe piston valve on the other engine as will be readily understood bythose skilled in the art, whereupon duplex operation of the two simplexengines will be produced. Should it be desired at any time to operateonly one of the engines or to operate the two engines as a pair ofsimplex engines the valves 1-9 may be closed and the valves 43a, 44a,43h, ll) open, whereupon steain inter-Conner:tion between the` twoengines will be out oit and appropriate Connections established in eachengine to Cause it to operate a siinplet engine, as will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art in view of the descriptionhereinbefore given as to the structure and operation ot the siinpleXengine illustrated in Figs. l to 5 inclusive.

I claim:-

In a device of the character described two engines arranged side byside, each engine having a cylinder, a spaced-headed piston in saidcylinder, said Cylinder prorided with ports `for Conductingpiston-actuating steam into and Jfreni said Cylinder, said Cylinder alsoprovided with auxiliary ports intermediate the heads ot said piston, asteani-aetuated piston-valve on the outside of said cylinder, saidpiston-valve connected with the said ports in said Cylinder by niainsteam-conducting passages, said piston-valve adapted to Control thepiston-actuating steain supply to and 'from said cylinder through saidinain passages, means for Conducting steain under pressure into saidCylinder between the spaced heads of the piston, an auxiliary valrelocated wholly within said cylinder between the spaced heads of saidpiston and adapted to be bodily inoved by the spaced heads oit saidpiston to open and close said auxiliary ports in said Cylinder toControl the steani supply troni. between said spaced heads through saidauxiliary ports, said auxiliary ports and said piston-valve conneeted byauxiliary steain-eoinflnoting passages, means for connecting thesteam-actuated pistonwalve oit each engine with the auxiliary ports inthe cylinder of the other engine by supplemental, auxiliarysteameondueting passages, ineans for opening and closing said auxiliarysteam-conducting passages, and ineans i'or opening and Closing saidsiulpleinental, auxiliary steani eondueting` passages. i

in testimony that I elaini the above, l have hereunto subseribed inynaine in the presence of two witnesses.

ELIAS lll. CONKELL.

lVitnessos WILLIAM H. MILLER, InnNn LUTZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C4.

